This application claims the priority of German application 196 34 215.5 filed in Germany on Aug. 24, 1996, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.
The invention relates to a central bearing for a rear axle of a motor vehicle that includes a U-shaped stirrup with whose free leg ends wheels are connected by receptacles
An elastic bearing for a wheel suspension is known from German Patent Document DE 26 25 374 A1 and comprises elastic annular elements that permit twisting of two axle ends of each wheel side connected together.
An object of the invention is to provide a rear axle for a motor vehicle with a central bearing that has a low construction cost and ensures specific characteristics in the lengthwise, transverse, and vertical directions.
This object is achieved according to the invention by providing an arrangement wherein the central bearing comprises two assembled elastic bearing elements that have a bearing axle in a bearing axle carrier located parallel to a crossbar of the rear axle stirrup; with the bearing elements being held in a sleeve and connected with a bearing bracket that can be fastened to the stirrup.
Primary advantages achieved with the invention are that the central bearing, consisting of two bearing elements, requires a low construction cost to manufacture and the characteristics in the various load directions can be adjusted accordingly when the two bearing elements are assembled.
In certain preferred embodiments of the invention, two individual bearing elements are clamped together by means of an overlapping annular strip mounted in turn in a sleeve that is part of a bearing bracket connected to the crossbar of a U-shaped stirrup of the rear axle.
Two diagonal supporting surfaces are formed on a bearing axle support, opposite which the supporting surfaces of the annular stirrup are located. The bearing elements are movable gimbal fashion between these supporting surfaces.
In the state of the two bearing elements that consist of elastic rings in which they are not subjected to tension, the tubular part of the bearing axle support projects by an amount that corresponds to the amount to which the elastic elements are squeezed together in the assembled state.
Cushions extending radially can serve as elastic stops, said cushions being formed by the two elastic bearing elements in the area where they come together and face the annular stirrup.